Making Better MatchesA Belbin Primer: Team Role Theory and Team Dynamics

Tuesday, March 30, 2010Richmond OD Round Table

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Overview• What is a team role?• What makes a team?• Building a balanced team

▫Preferred roles▫Team role “sacrifice”

• The 9 Team roles • Eligible vs. Suitable

▫Job success factors▫Identifying “missing” team roles

• Mapping Team Dynamics• e-Interplace – sample reports

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What is a Team Role?

"A tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way.“

•Team Role theory is based on 9 years of research at Henley Management College (UK)

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What makes a team?Teams Groups

Size Limited Medium or Large

Selection Crucial Immaterial

Leadership Shared or Rotating Solo

Perception Mutual or shared understanding

Focus on leader

Style Role SpreadCoordination

ConvergenceConformism

SpiritDynamic interaction:

“We”

Togetherness andPersecution of

opponents:

“Us and them”

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The changing face of teamwork

•Once it was: Many hands make light work▫Work was straightforward and clear▫Specialized tasks executed by specialized staff▫Tools were few and unsophisticated

•Now: It takes a diverse range of behaviours and skills …. to make it work▫No single individual can “wear all hats”▫Work is complex and multifaceted▫Multi-talents required; project approach▫Vast array of skills required and behaviours to

master

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Teams examined …

•Some people are better at certain tasks than others — why?

•Some teams are productive, and get things done; others less so — why?

•Some teams are creative and innovative; what makes them so?

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ALL roles are useful …•… some are more useful at different phases in

a project

•… some roles can be “solo”•… some roles require team effort

▫We couldn’t have done it without you …”▫Without your contribution, the project would

have failed”

•Let’s look more closely at teams and roles …

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Building a Balanced Team

•Ideally, a productive and effective team will have a mix of▫Thinkers, planners, creative problem-

solvers

▫Doers, action-oriented contributors

▫Social, interaction-oriented contributors

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Building a Balanced TeamAction-oriented Cerebral Social

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Preferred and manageable roles•Team roles are “Clusters of behavioural

preference” •Top 2 – 4 are Preferred or Dominant roles =

most natural and comfortable (score 65-100%)

•Preferred secondary (and tertiary) role = fall back when dominant role is already taken (team role sacrifice)

•Manageable role = competent and doable•Least preferred (score <25%) = avoid

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Team Role Sacrifice•When two or more individuals share a

dominant or preferred team role, the others will settle into a secondary preferred (or less dominant) role.

•This team role sacrifice must be a conscious choice, based on an understanding of team dynamics

• If the choice is forced, or not accepted, it may become a source of resentment and tension

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The 9 Team Roles

Plant CoordinatorMonitorEvaluator

Implementer Specialist

ResourceInvestigator

Shaper TeamworkerCompleterFinisher

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The 9 Team Roles: Shaper•Shaper

▫Charismatic, forceful, personal stake in success, and the drive to make it happen, often a bit manipulative — entrepreneurial manager

▫Ideal “change” and “innovation” manager•Strengths:

▫Challenges status quo, dynamic, thrives under pressure. Drive and courage to overcome obstacles

•Allowable weaknesses:▫Takes failure personally, provocative, prone to

offending people’s feelings13

The 9 Team Roles: Coordinator

•Coordinator▫Consensus-builder, politically astute operator,

process and procedure-oriented▫Excellent “maintenance” managers, but

ineffective, sometimes counterproductive “innovation” managers

•Strengths:▫Mature, confident, clarifies goals, facilitates

decision-making, delegates well•Allowable weaknesses:

▫Manipulative, offloads personal work14

The 9 Team Roles: Monitor/Evaluator•Monitor-Evaluator

▫Develops and evaluates scenarios, builds contingency plans, thinks of everything (that can go wrong) — ideal project manager

•Strengths:▫Sober, strategic, discerning. Sees all options;

has good judgement•Allowable weaknesses:

▫Lacks drive and the ability to inspire others

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The 9 Team Roles: Plant

•Plant▫Autonomously creative, visionary, architect, an

idea generator; thinker rather than do-er•Strengths:

▫Creative, imaginative, unorthodox; tackles and solves complex problems

•Allowable weaknesses:▫Distracted, often poor follow-through, too

preoccupied to communicate effectively, impatient with execution

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The 9 Team Roles: Resource Investigator•Resource-Investigator

▫Relationship-builder, extroverted, creatively mixes and matches people and information, big-picture thinker, pragmatic, opportunistic

•Strengths:▫Extrovert, infectious enthusiasm, great

communicator, explores and exploits opportunities•Allowable weaknesses:

▫Overly optimistic; dismisses legitimate concerns, loses interest once initial excitement has passed

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The 9 Team Roles: Team Worker•Team Worker

▫The motivator, the mediator, a people-oriented worker, social coordinator and guardian of the team-spirit

•Strengths:▫Cooperative, collaborative, always ready to

help out, perceptive, high EQ, diplomatic•Allowable weaknesses:

▫Indecisive in critical situations, gets too emotional

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The 9 Team Roles: Completer/Finisher•Completer-Finisher

▫Worriers, perfectionists, detail-oriented nitpickers

▫But: they cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s•Strengths:

▫Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Seeks out and identifies errors and flaws, delivers on time

•Allowable weaknesses:▫ Inclined to worry unduly, reluctant (sometimes

incapable) to delegate

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The 9 Team Roles: Implementer•Implementer

▫Solid performer, unassuming, loyal, plugs away tirelessly and gets the job done, do-er rather than thinker

•Strengths:▫Disciplined, reliable, conservative, efficient.

Turns ideas into practical actions•Allowable weaknesses:

▫Inflexible, resistant to sudden change, suspicious of new ideas/approaches

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The 9 Team Roles: Specialist• Specialists

▫ Lone gunmen – but straight shooters▫ Have all the detailed knowledge nobody else retains –

and will deliver the correct information on request▫ Have no interest in actual team work

• Strengths:▫Single-minded, self-starter, dedicated. Contributes

scarce and detailed knowledge and skills when asked

• Allowable weaknesses:▫Contributes only on a narrow basis; slow to

volunteer information, tends to dwell on technicalities and tools

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Sample Team role reports

•Self-perception Inventory (SPI)

•Assessment results in rank order(complete with Observer reports)

•Counselling report

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Self-Perception Inventory (SPI)

Preferred

Manageable

Avoid!

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Assessment results in rank order

Preferred

Manageable

Avo

id!

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Counselling report

“On a final note, you need to take account of the role for which you are least suited. You do not appear to fit comfortably into a subordinate role. You may therefore need to give special attention to becoming low profile and supportive when the occasion calls for it.”

“Your profile suggests you have a strong sense of direction and ideas of your own. You like producing ideas … you are likely to be more than ready to direct others, possibly at the risk of appearing authoritarian in the desire to get things done. You may have to discipline yourself to ensure that you give adequate scope to your colleagues …”

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Eligible vs. Suitable

Eligibility vs SuitabilityEntry criteria Performance criteria

Qualifications Aptitude Relevant experience Versatility References Assessment(s) Acceptability at

interview Role fit with those

adjacent to the job

•Can s/he do the job? vs.•Will s/he be an effective team member?

▫Fit, personality, behavioural preference ▫Does s/he have the right Team Role Profile?

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Job Success Factors

•Beyond “eligible”, research shows that

▫Attitudes and values▫Interpersonal behaviours▫Organizational sensitivity▫Adaptability to change▫Emotional maturity, and ▫An open mind

•Are the true success factors for job performance

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Why is Team Dynamics important?•How people interact with others is situational

•Conflict is often a result of competing team roles

•Team role sacrifice is a consequence of team role awareness

•Understanding team roles promotes smooth interaction and collaboration

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Mapping Team Dynamics•Offers insight to members about who should

be doing what

•Clarifies value-add for individual team members

•Avoids duplication of effort (or dropped responsibilities)

• Identifies crucial team role gaps – to be filled29

Sample Team Dynamics reports

•Overview of team role profiles (team of 5)

•Identifying “missing” team roles

•Working relationships▫Dominant roles ME – SP▫Dominant roles ME – TW

•Team Dynamic: preferred role distribution30

Overview of team role profiles (5)

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Missing team roles

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Working relationship ME -- SP

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Working relationship ME -- TW

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Team Dynamic: preferred roles

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Contact

•email: echamer@hamer-associates.ca

•voice: 604-317-2234

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